Resources & Tools
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In the wake of Lebanon forming a new government, USIP assesses how the country can ensure ongoing political progress and stability. |
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This report presents the research findings and analysis of ten months of field study as part of the United States Institute of Peace and George Washington University project titled "From Current Practices of Justice to Rule of Law: Policy Options for Liberia's First Post-Conflict Decade." The analysis we present, based on three types of research methods (focus groups, individual interviews with parties to specific disputes, and interviews with chiefs, zoes [traditional leaders], and other justice practitioners) employed primarily in three counties (Grand Gedeh, Lofa, Nimba, and less extensively in parts of Monrovia), is intended to provide the Liberian government and other stakeholders in the country with more robust evidence than has hitherto been available on how both formal and customary justice systems are perceived and utilized by Liberians. |
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USIP's David Smock explores the factors underlying and perpetuating the militancy in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In this report, based on an 11-day trip to Nigeria in late August 2009, Smock analyzes the prospects for the amnesty process, and why stronger political processes and economic development could help address the roots of the conflict there. |
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The deadly conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed the lives of millions and appears to have no end. A new USIP report provides context to this protracted war, assesses current approaches and presents new options on how to resolve it. Countries: Africa
| Issue Areas: Economics and Development, Environment and Natural Resources, Governance, Humanitarian Efforts, Peacekeeping
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A new USIP report on Haiti's criminal laws examines the shortcomings of the impoverished country's criminal code – and finds promising opportunities to modernize and reform the laws. Despite Haiti's numerous challenges, the report concludes that new laws in Haiti will usher in a new era where the criminal justice system serves all people of Haiti, including the poor, vulnerable and marginalized, and upon which respect for the law and legitimacy of a stronger judicial system overall can be built. |
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As concerns grow about Bosnia’s post-war recovery, USIP presents its fourth report on recent developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and various options to prevent a return to violence there. Author Jim O'Brien, who served as the presidential envoy for the Balkans in the 1990s, proposes a two-part strategy that includes stripping Bosnia's political parties of their nationalist appeal and speeding up the European Union accession process for the Balkans region. |
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The trade of stolen oil, or “blood oil,” in Nigeria is fueling a long-running insurgency in the Niger Delta region that has claimed many lives. A USIP special report by Judith Burdin Asuni shows how the big business of blood oil poses a threat not only to the Nigerian state and the region, but to the international community as well. |
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More political violence will be hard to avoid in Sudan, barring a quick change in current trends, according to a new USIP report. Much of the outcome hinges on the handling of issues that involve the 2011 referendum on whether the South secedes from Sudan. |
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As part of a push to bolster security in Iraq, the U.S. government declared 2006 the “Year of the Police” and focused on building the institutional capacity of the Ministry of the Interior, which supervises and trains Iraq’s police force. However, even by 2007, numerous reports described Iraq’s Ministry of the Interior as crippled by corruption and sectarianism, and furthermore represented a major obstacle to developing an effective police force in the country. |
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USIP Visiting Research Scholar Jeremiah S. Pam testified on July 14, 2009, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs on efforts by the U.S., the Afghan government and others to spur the Afghan economy in an effort to stabilize the country.
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